Aluminum company to build new plant in Lafayette

February 17, 2011

Nanshan America Co. on Wednesday announced the company’s plans to establish an aluminum extrusions manufacturing facility in Lafayette. The announcement was made at the Buchanan Club at Ross-Ade Stadium. Those in attendance included (from left) Tony Roswarski, mayor of Lafayette; Maoming Chu, deputy consul general, People's Republic of China; Lijun Du, president of Nashan America Co. and Purdue alumnus; President France A. Córdova ; Ke Dai, Office of Commerce, PRC; and Mitch Roob, Indiana Secretary of Commerce and CEO, Indiana Economic Development Corp.

A division of the Nanshan Group, based in China, is building and equipping a $100 million, 435,000-square-foot aluminum extrusion manufacturing facility and office in Lafayette. It is slated to open in early 2012 and will employ 150 people within two years.

The Lafayette plant, the company's first manufacturing site in the United States, will be known as Nanshan America Advanced Aluminum Technologies and located on 50 acres in Park 350, a 330-acre industrial park near Veterans Memorial Parkway and U.S. 52.

Lijun Du, president of Nanshan America Co., has Lafayette ties, including earning a master of science in industrial administration degree in 2004 from Purdue University and formerly serving as director of China operations for Oscar Winski Co. Inc., a Lafayette-headquartered business.

Gov. Mitch Daniels, who made the announcement, said Indiana had an "incredible, unfair advantage" in attracting the company: Purdue University.